


Standing In Front Of You

by chachkisalpaca



Series: Stubborn Feelings Verse [1]
Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: F/F, F/M, Slow Burn, graphic designer/ceo au, kelly clarkson's album "stronger" inspired fic, lots of kelly clarkson references, there are many disaster lesbians
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-08-11
Packaged: 2019-10-21 03:18:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17635025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chachkisalpaca/pseuds/chachkisalpaca
Summary: Pearl has been helplessly in love with Violet since she was ten years old. But even when she's standing in front of her, ready to give her heart away, Violet gives her love to someone else.





	1. Here I Am Once Again, pt. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello guys! Welcome to my first solo fic in a while. :) There's not much to say honestly, it's based on Kelly Clarkson songs, although the lyrics aren't really that explicit in the text.
> 
> Shout out to my gal grey-darling for the amazing beta reading! Love you lots babe <3
> 
> Anyway, hope you all like it! Feedback is appreciated <3

For as long as she could remember, Pearl had been helplessly in love with Violet Chachki. She had first met Violet when her family moved next door, when Pearl was around nine or ten. She’d always noticed Violet from the moment she stepped down the car, but for Violet, Pearl was invisible.

Pearl didn’t know if it was on purpose or if she just really wasn’t interested in being friends with her. Pearl spent most of her teenage years admiring Violet from the window in her room that had a perfect view of the Chachki’s backyard. Violet went to a completely different school from Pearl, so catching a closer glimpse of her at school was never an option for her.

Pearl never understood why she crushed for so long on Violet, since she barely knew her. She only knew the outside; the pretty face, the smile she flashed occasionally to her brother if they happened to run into each other at the street. In a few words, Pearl fed a hopeless love for so many years with too little interaction between them two.

She often wondered how would it be if she was more outgoing and extroverted, enough to insist on being friends with her. She thought about how would her life be if, instead of daydreaming of talking with her, she actually spoke with her. But Pearl’s social skills were the complete opposite of her older brother, Willam; he had more chance to flirt with Violet or gain her friendship at least. The only reason Willam hadn’t done that in all those years was because his awareness of his sister’s affection for the girl.

In fact, Pearl first came out to Willam by accident. He was saying something about flirting with the hot neighbor, and she quickly said, in a childlike manner, he couldn’t because she liked Violet first. It didn’t surprise Willam, though; Pearl was as transparent as glass.

It still was a recurrent joke between them, how she was in love with her all those years without attempting to make the slightest move until it was too late. When Violet moved out for college, Pearl’s heart shattered in a million pieces —it sounded too dramatic, but she always said it felt like that if not more— convinced she had lost her chance forever.

From then on, she barely saw her. Pearl had stayed in town, since the career of graphic designer she wanted to pursue was available, while Violet had, most likely, left to study somewhere else. It was the only explanation Pearl could give herself to calm her aching heart.

Eventually, she moved on with her life and Violet was completely gone of her mind. Moving out had given her the relief she needed; a breath of fresh air after so many years of choking in unsaid feelings.

Her years in college went by in a blink. It had hurt, stressed her out, leaving her sleepless innumerable nights, but it had been worth it. Aside from the hard study, she had made some good, loyal friends, and even had a girlfriend in her second year, but that didn’t quite work out. It didn’t matter, though.

She and her friends decided to support each other as they left college and went on full adulthood. They’d always recommend each other to prospective employers when times got tough.

One time, a small, rising company of perfumes solicited Manila’s services to create a website for them. Unfortunately, Manila wasn’t specialized in websites, however, she knew someone reliable that could fulfil the job just right — Pearl. Manila expressed this to one of the co-owners, and offered to give her Pearl’s contact information. She said yes, and thanked Manila before she left.

Within a couple days, Pearl read an email from the company Manila said she had suggested her for. The email said they’d be delighted to work with her, after all the references Manila had given, and if she was interested she just had to reply to agree on a meeting where they’d discuss the price, the design and whatnot.

Pearl accepted without a doubt, quickly answering it. A couple hours later, she got a response, saying they could meet her on Friday morning, 9 AM to be specific. Pearl smiled and texted Manila to thank her for the job, adding that if everything went well the next night they went for dinner it’d be her treat.

The week went slow, when Pearl had received the email was only Tuesday; during the remaining three days the idea of looking up the alleged company never crossed her mind. She was going by her gut, and what Manila had told her about it. What she have to worry about, anyway? She had done this multiple times before.

When Friday arrived, she woke up earlier than she should, and in an oddly good mood. Maybe it was because of the weekend, she thought. She got properly dressed up, with a white shirt, a blue blazer, a pencil skirt of the same color and the only formal heels she owned.

Pearl would usually go dressed up as casual and informal as she could, since most of her work meetings weren’t of a high level. But this was one of those rare occasions, when she just knew she had to dress accordingly. She’d be meeting the owners of a possible successful brand in the long run; she had to make a good first impression.

When the time was approaching, she called an Uber — not even in ten lives she’d walk so many streets with those heels. Her cab arrived and they’d been lost at first, to find the offices of the company, but she got there in the end.

The offices for the brand, called V&V Perfumes, was big enough, but bigger than expected for a starting company. She clutched her bag and breathed in, stepping into the building. The first thing she saw was a wide counter with two girls quietly chatting with a mug each.

Pearl approached them, watching everything with detail. Again, for being a starter, the decoration was impeccable, in her mind there were already possible designs that would fit the aesthetic of the company.

“Welcome to V&V Perfumes ma’am, how can I help you?” Said a ginger girl when she was close enough, with a warm smile. Pearl smiled her back.

“I’m here to see Miss Valentina Rodriguez, she contacted me for my services as a graphic designer,” Pearl informed. The redhead woman looked at her computer for a moment, checking her boss’ schedule.

“Oh, yes; you’re the 9 AM appointment. To get to her officine all you have to do is go upstairs and look for the door that says ‘V. Rodriguez’.” Pearl nodded, thanking her. “I’ll tell her you’re here. Have a nice day!”

Pearl followed her indications, praying that there weren’t too many stairs between Valentina and her. She wasn’t exactly familiar with stilettos. It didn’t take her much time to find Valentina’s office. She knocked on the door, hearing a ‘Come in’ shortly after.

She glanced all over the room, surprised by its flower decoration and the many photos hanging on the walls, before laying her eyes upon the desk; only then she noticed the two persons sitting behind the desk. She frowned a little, she was convinced she’d just meet Valentina, who was this other woman? She looked strangely familiar.

“Good morning, I suppose you’re Pearl Liaison,” spoke the brunette woman, which she supposed to be Valentina. She had ‘latina’ tattooed on her forehead.

“I am, yes, and you must be Valentina. Nice to meet you.” Pearl smiled to Valentina, and she smiled back.

“Please, take a seat.” She pointed at the chairs front of her, and Pearl obeyed in silence. “This is my best friend, who also happens to own the other half of the company; Violet Chachki.” Violet gave Pearl a nod and a small smile, with her lips painted in a bright red.

Pearl froze for the longest ten seconds in her seat. Violet Chachki. The Violet Chachki that lived more than half of her life next door? The one she used to be hopelessly in love with? That Violet Chachki?

Pearl’s throat dried up; Violet had only gotten prettier with the years. Or maybe it was her heavy makeup. During her teenage years, Violet barely wore any makeup, as far as she could see from the windows, and now she had a dramatic eyeliner, heavy eye makeup, bright red lipstick and she was sure those eyebrows weren’t hers completely.

She was a completely different Violet than the one she used to “know”. Pearl smiled to Violet, it seemed that everything had gone well for her after she moved out.

“Now that I think of it, I’m pretty sure you were my neighbor most of my life. The Chachki surname isn’t that common nor easy to forget.”

Violet smiled widely for the first time since Pearl stepped into the officine.

“Oh! So that’s why your name sounded familiar. Well, isn’t it a small world, Pearl?”

“It sure is.”

Valentina cocked a brow. How convenient, it’d only made their work easier since they’d already met. She quickly drew the attention to her just when Violet was going to speak again.

“You already know the reasons why we contacted you, Miss Liaison,” Valentina began, adopting a more serious tone, “Our company has been growing in the last months at accelerated rates, the proof being we recently moved to this new office. Now, we want to reach a new level with a page to showcase our products and ship them across the country.”

“Eventually, we’ll try and add more countries to the shipping list, depending on the demand,” Violet added, with her stare fixed on Pearl.

Pearl nodded, absentmindedly chewing on her pen. She took her laptop out of her bag, opened some tabs and showed them her portfolio and websites she had previously done for other customers. Violet and Valentina locked at the screen closely, while Pearl began to explain how she used to work.

“Normally, it takes me between two to three days to create a website, of course the time varies depending on the design and the simplicity of it. Now, I’ve never added a shopping option before, but I’m sure I’ll be able to do it.” She smiled to them once they were done looking through her references.

“I like your designs, they’re very polished and professional,” Violet complimented, making Pearl smile widely. She thanked her, putting her computer back in its bag. “When do you think you can start working?”

“When you find it convenient. I’m under your orders, ma’am,” Pearl giggled, but something in the way Violet looked at her after that phrase made a shiver ran down her back. She looked away, now focusing on Valentina. “I usually work from my home and stop by once a day to check with my clients if it’s going the way they want it, would that work for you?”

Valentina thought about it for a moment, before shaking her head.

“No, honestly; I can’t speak for my friend, but I like to supervise all the work done in our company by myself, so I wouldn’t mind if you came here to do your work, how does that sound to you?”

Pearl felt as if a bucket of water had fallen over her. She’d have to work in constant company of Valentina, and most likely with Violet too. Violet, the girl she used to love profusely. Violet, the girl that enchanted her with just a smile. Violet, simply Violet. Pearl was sure she was over Violet and she had no love for her whatsoever, so why did the idea scared her to death?

Deep inside, she knew this could be a big business opportunity, and she was no longer a foolish teen in love. With a shaky smile, she said: “I can do that, yes.”

Valentina clapped excited, happy to be obeyed — it was a thing of hers, she couldn’t stand a no.

They discussed the prices and the hours she’d be spending there as long as the website still wasn’t finished. During the whole process, Violet spoke only when Valentina included her in the conversation, otherwise she was quiet. Her gaze was fixed on Pearl; Pearl and those freckles covering her entire face. Violet was wondering why she hadn’t noticed Pearl at all during all those years she lived next door; she was a pretty girl, and Violet was sure she often caught people’s eyes in the street easily.

Once their meeting was done, they stood up and shook hands. Pearl offered Violet a warm smile and some kind words before leaving the office.

On her side, Pearl let out the breath she’d been holding from the moment she was told Violet was also part of the company — an important one, if it wasn’t enough already. She sighed, hoping the next meeting would be somewhat tolerable, and all the feelings she worked hard to erase wouldn’t appear again.

What were the chances that, after not seeing her for nearly seven years and erasing her from her heart, she’d fall for her again but stronger, with all the time they were going to spend together?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Come chat with me about the fic on tumblr! chachkisalpaca.tumblr.com
> 
> Love you all for reading! I'll see you in the next chapter :)


	2. Here I Am Once Again, pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 is here! I hope you enjoy it, this time we're seeing things on Violet's perspective. :) Anyway, as always, feedback is very much appreciated and thanks to grey-darling for betaing!

Violet’s life had been a mess for a long time. People outside from her family couldn’t see it, but the Chachki’s were a broken family who were exceptionally good at pretending. Her parents lived in a marriage without love, in which they usually sought comfort in the arms of a stranger. Violet and her twin brother, Jason, witnessed many fights and reconciliations during their lives. The reason why Marie and Victor hadn’t got a divorce before they moved out was unknown to them.

She grew up lying to every single friend she had, making excuses so they would never step foot in such a chaotic house. Many times she almost lost them, when the lies were so big they were easy to spot. But in time they learned to not ask, just accept. Violet preferred it that way.

She didn’t let her parents fights stop her from getting good grades and being one of the best students. The better grades she got, the better college she could enter, and the better college she could enter, the easier it would be to break free from her parents. Violet wanted to leave the angry screams in the middle of the night behind, and have a taste of freedom and peace for once. 

Jason supported her when she decided to move out and drove her to college the day she left. Her relationship with Jason was stronger due to all the things they went through together, and besides, they were twins. They were connected in a way normal siblings weren’t. He held her hand all the way until they reached the campus, and the goodbye hurt even more than they thought.

Before leaving, Violet gave him a smile and a kiss on the forehead.

“If they’re being trouble again, or you miss me, you know I’m just a call away.” Jason nodded, saying the last goodbye. He saw her walk through the campus with her suitcase, he left only when he saw her enter the building.

The next time Jason called her, it was to inform their parents were getting a divorce for real. Violet should’ve been surprised, but she wasn’t, honestly. She saw it coming long ago. Jason told her that mom had left in the middle of the night, packing her things in silence and taking her car. Since then, Violet just kept coming home because of Jason — he wasn’t lucky enough to enter to a college that provided dorms for their students.

When Jason moved out, Violet never bothered to visit her parents. They were both messed up, and had nothing good to say. She wasn’t there when her mother got married again, unlike Jason that went and had to swallow the love her mother had for her new husband and his two kids.

The twins moved on with their lives, pretending their parents had just vanished as if nothing had happened. They both thought it was for the best; they didn’t fit anymore in their parents new lives. Now, Jason and Violet just had each other, just them against all odds.

Violet met Valentina in a senior college party. They hooked up, only to decide afterwards they didn’t quite match romantically, so they chose to remain friends. Despite the circumstances in which they met, they discovered they were pretty good as friends, and their bond grew with each day that passed.

Later on, Valentina told Violet about her dream; she wanted to be a famous model, work with the elite brands and walk down the most prestigious runways. Violet answered by saying she wanted to have her own company related to beauty products and if she ever needed a model, she would hire her. That was the first step into creating their future empire.

Valentina’s family was wealthy; when her grandfather came to America he sold home made tequila, it soon grew to a full store, and his sons turned it into a international business. It was logical that they should start with perfumes, they had a hand to help them out in that matter. Valentina’s father was happy to see his only daughter pursue her dreams and start her own business, so he offered some help, but she had to do the rest.

With her father helping them out in the making of the bottles and buying them a store in the center of the city; with such location, they grew quicker than expected. Violet created the fragrances and Valentina was the model in the posters and promotions they did on the social media.

In the two years their brand had existed, they gained more fame than expected. After consulting with Valentina’s father, they decided to open a small office to control the insane amount of paperwork they had, as well as shipping their products in a more safe way.

The business did well, but as ambitious they were, they wanted more. When Valentina found out about the issues with shipping for their social media customers, she knew what was missing.

“We should open an online store,” she said one day, when they were in the middle of their lunch break.

Violet thought about it for a moment, it was a good idea actually. Instagram wasn’t that reliable for placing orders; they had to spend all day long looking at their DMs to make sure they hadn’t missed any order.

“Makes sense, I’m kind of tired of social media. But where do we look for a graphic designer?” Violet questioned, Valentina then remembered that she used to date a girl in college who studied graphic design. She couldn’t remember what she was specialized in, but it wouldn’t hurt to try.

“I know someone,” she said, grabbing her phone.

The very next day, Manila appeared in Valentina’s office with a smile and her portfolio under her arms. Some minutes after into the conversation they found out she wasn’t a web designer, but knew someone who was. Manila gave them her friend’s information and left, not without Valentina making her promise they’d hang out sometime later. 

Valentina personally contacted the new graphic designer and informed Violet of the details. Everything seemed normal, until the interview arrived.

Pearl was a pretty woman, with a charming smile and a constellation of freckles in her face. Violet was sure she had seen her before somewhere else, it all clicked when she mentioned they used to be neighbors.

She had seen Pearl around a few times, when she was a tiny teenager that barely went out. She was still tiny, but there was no sign of that shy girl that panicked when she waved at her and her brother. She was more mature, and it showed.

The meeting ended, and they decided that Pearl would return the next day to start her job and would be supervised by Valentina or Violet as she did her work. They shook hands before Pearl left, and Violet smiled at her.

“It’ll be a pleasure to work with you, Pearl.” Violet then let go of her hand and watched her leave.

Once the door was closed, Valentina spoke. 

“She’s hot. Was she like that when you two were neighbors?” She wondered, going back to her papers.

“Not at all,” she answered, standing up to walk back to her own office. Valentina mumbled something but she didn’t answer.

Violet made her way to her office, trying to ignore the temptation of opening up Instagram and looking for Pearl. “She’s pretty, but not that much to tempt me,” she thought, putting away those thoughts.

Tomorrow arrived in the blink of an eye. Violet was on the very first step of the stairs when Pearl appeared out of nowhere. She was dressed casually, but still formal. She wasn’t wearing any heels, though, appearing much smaller than yesterday. Pearl gave Violet a bright smile.

“Good morning, Miss Chachki,” she greeted, starting to walk next to her.

“Good morning, Pearl,” Violet said, “Please, just call me Violet, I don’t like formalities.” She offered her a slight smile, Violet could swear she saw Pearl’s cheeks flush a rosy tone.

“Okay, Violet.” Pearl smiled back, in a way that made Violet smile too. 

She fixed her gaze on the million freckles adorning her face, trying to decipher what was about her that made her want to smile like crazy whenever she was around. Violet looked away when she saw Pearl turn her head around when they reached the second floor.

Another warm smile graced her lips.

“I’ll see you around, I guess,” she said, heading to Valentina’s office, waving her hand. 

“See you later,” Violet mumbled, watching her disappear behind that door, waving slightly in return.

Violet quickly got back to her senses and made her way to her office, greeting people passing by before locking herself in and start drowning in papers. 

The bigger the company, the more paperwork to do.

It was a good thing she’d studied accounting, so it wasn’t that much of a problem. It didn’t make paper work any less stressful, though. 

The hours went by painfully slowly, employees came and went from her office with papers for her to sign and approve. For some reason, Valentina hadn’t bursted into her office dramatically just to ask which color she wanted the website to be, yet. She got a text from Valentina five minutes before lunch time.

_ Val: Pearl will be joining us at lunch, we’re going to our place, I’m driving her. x _

Violet bit her bottom lip, holding a laugh, poor Pearl; Office Valentina was one thing, but Daily Valentina a complete different other. She sighed, reordering her desk. The five minutes went in a blink, and Valentina texted her again to let her know they were on their way. She quickly replied.

_ Viv: I’ll meet you there in 10, don’t scare the poor thing yet.  _

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Come chat with me about aus and rabbits in my tumblr blog chachkisalpaca :D and don't forget to comment, as replying comments it's my favorite thing


	3. You Don't Know A Thing At All, pt. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi lads. Happy late valentines day, I'd have updated yesterday but it was a crazy day. Also, I'll probably have a trip next week until march so there won't be a new chapter for like, two weeks? Hope you can understand! As always feedback is very much appreciated and thanks to my gal grey-darling for beta reading. <3

Pearl texted Willam as soon as she got home.

_Pearl: Remember Violet Chachki? Our ex neighbor?_

She got a response within a minute.

_Willam: How can I not? You had the hots for her since she moved in._

Pearl blushed furiously — well, it was true. But right now she didn’t want to remember how deeply in love she used to be with her. In some ways it was pathetic.

_Pearl: You’re an idiot. Well, thing is I just got hired by her and her friend to build them a website._

Instead of a text Willam called her. Pearl sighed, knowing Willam would ask about every possible detail and make fun of her.

“You’re going to build a website for _who_?” Willam questioned, speaking so fast Pearl barely understood what he said.

Pearl bit her bottom lip, falling to the couch.

“Violet Chachki and her friend. Apparently she owns a perfume brand now.” Willam scoffed on the other side of the line.

“I can’t believe your bad luck sometimes, sis,” he said, Pearl groaned “Imagine if you spoke to her back when she was our neighbor. She could have been your sugar mommy.”

She wanted to say Violet wasn’t the appropriate age to be anyone’s sugar mommy, but the mental picture of Violet covering her in  expensive clothes and jewels got stuck in her brain, as well as what she had to do to earn them. She groaned loudly.

“Fuck you, I bet she’s not even a lesbian or bisexual. My radar doesn’t say so.” Pearl got up and went to the kitchen to eat something, putting Willam on speaker.

“To be fair, sis, your radar is catching dust lately, you haven’t had a date in years,” Willam pointed out. Pearl hated to say he was right, and it was quite literal.

Pearl couldn’t recall the last time she had a date, but it was long ago, she had that clear. She never needed anyone to be happy, nor did she describe herself as romantic. In fact, she could safely say she was the most unromantic person you could ever met. Pearl wouldn’t want anyone to stand her lack of romanticism after what happened with Katya, her first and last girlfriend.

“I mean, you’re right, but that doesn’t my radar is failing!”

“You’re right,” Willam admitted, “It’s just that you’re very oblivious and a mess. Don’t you remember how poor Katya had to confess her feelings so you’d understand it?”

She closed her eyes for a moment and massaged her temples. The whole thing had been a fiasco that set the tone for their relationship. Katya had been giving Pearl clear signs for months, but Pearl just thought she was being friendly all along. One day Katya decided to straight up tell Pearl during recess.

Unfortunately, she was still being subtle enough for Pearl to not get it. Katya had groaned in frustration when Pearl said ‘I don’t understand’ for the tenth time, she placed her arms over Pearl’s shoulders and shook them, yelling:

“I like you, you fucking moron! How oblivious can you possibly be?! I even sent you nudes!”

“I thought they were to show your new tattoo!”

The whole campus was staring at them at that moment, Katya left fuming to her next class. And it wasn’t until next day when Pearl decided to confront her.

So yes. Pearl was the most oblivious person, and Willam definitely had a point by saying her radar was gathering some dust. She groaned as an answer.

“Fine. You’re right, my radar hasn’t been functioning well, and yes most of the time I’m unaware of people’s feelings, so what?”

Willam rolled his eyes. ‘ _Dear God, give me patience with my sister_ ’, he thought.

“Never mind. But don’t call me when you find out she’s a lesbian, ‘cause I’ll say ‘I told you so’.”

Pearl scoffed, “As if. I gotta hang up, I’ll see you at brunch?” She questioned, giving her apple a bite.

“Sure, I have someone I want you to meet. See you.” Willam hung up before Pearl could ask who they were.

The rest of her day went pretty slow. Manila had called to check on her, and when Pearl asked about the nature of her relationship with Valentina she was surprised to hear they used to date. Valentina didn’t seem Manila’s type, but it was college, it made sense she wanted to try new things, after all.

In the afternoon, Pearl couldn’t resist anymore and googled Violet. She was surprised to see there were many articles speaking of her and her brand, mostly from local news papers. She also found Violet’s instagram; Violet didn’t have many photos, but boy she had many story highlights. Pearl didn’t dare to look at them, instead she scrolled through her photos.

Violet had some photos with Valentina and a man similar to her. Pearl resolved they probably were related in some way, and let it go. Violet also had photos that went all the way back to college, Pearl smiled with fondness when she saw the first picture she had posted. The day she left for college, in front of her old house. The description read: _“#tbt when the best part of my life started”._

Pearl was suddenly moved with feelings, remembering the crazy stuff she used to write in an old diary she still kept about Violet, and the lengths she went to get Violet to notice her without having to actually speak to her.

The same concern she’d felt as she left the office hit her again. Wouldn’t she catch feelings for Violet again? Pearl hadn’t had a crush on someone ever since Katya, and that had been long ago. Perhaps nothing would happen. Yeah; she just had to stay focused on doing her work and everything would be fine.

Around dinner time, she didn’t have any will to cook, so she grabbed her keys, phone and some money to go buy some food, since she didn’t have any delivery number either.

Pearl walked some streets, until she got to her favorite pizzeria. She entered with a smile, greeting the employees; she went there so often most of the staff already knew her.Too bad they didn’t have any delivery service.

“Hey Pearl! The usual thing?” The cashier, Danny, asked with his pen already pressing slightly on the paper.

Pearl nodded, “Hi Danny. Yeah, the usual, to take away.”

Danny quickly wrote the order down and said she could sit while she waited.

A fair thirty minutes went by when Pearl heard Danny’s voice say: “Pineapple and anchovies pizza for—” Danny couldn’t finish his sentence because a man had taken the pizza out of his hands and placed money on the counter. Pearl got up and practically ran towards him before he could take any other step.

“Where do you think you’re going?! That’s my order!” She exclaimed, the man cocked a brow.

“I’m pretty sure I’m the only weirdo that’d ever think this is tasty, so no ma’am, this is not your order,” he said, as politely as he could.

Pearl looked back at Danny, “I think he can resolve this. Who’s pizza is this, Danny?” She questioned, already with an already triumphant smile.

Danny took a look at his notes.

“It’s his, Pearl; believe it or not he came just moments before you and ordered the same thing, yours will be out in a moment,” Danny explained. Pearl’s smile disappeared as she looked towards the man, who now was the one smiling.

“Oh, uh, then I’m sorry, it’s just… Weird, that someone else would enjoy such a weird combo, you know?” She stuttered. The man smiled to her, it felt familiar, she thought, she had seen him somewhere else.

“No worries, I understand the mistake,” he said, “It’s not a common taste, true. It’s not common either for a pretty girl to like the same things as I do.”

Pearl laughed internally, at the attempt of flirt. ‘If only he knew’, she thought. She decided to play along the flirting until her order was ready, just because New York was a big city and the chances of not seeing him again were high.

“What’s your name, by the way?” She asked, once she paid Danny for the pizza and was about to leave.

He smiled again and Pearl was convinced she had seen him somewhere else by this moment.

\-----

Pearl threw the money at the face of the man driving the cab and stormed out of the vehicle as fast as she could. She was running late to work due to the fact that she overslept. Her alarm never went off and she had to skip breakfast to be able to make it.

She ran towards the stairs, not noticing that Violet was standing there until she was by her side. Pearl caught her breath for a moment and smiled to Violet.

“Good morning Miss Chachki,” she breathed out, walking next to her.

“Good morning, Pearl. Please, just call me Violet, I don’t like formalities.” Violet smiled slightly, and then Pearl saw it. The man she had met last night was the man that appeared in some of Violet’s instagram photos.

 _‘How small can New York be? Or how much bad luck can I have…_ ’ Her cheeks got a rosy tone due to the embarrassment — there was a big chance that last night’s man and Violet were close relatives.

“Okay, Violet,” she murmured.

Pearl could feel Violet scrutinizing her. What could she want? Pearl was tempted to raise a brow and ask her if she had something on her face. Fortunately, they had reached the second floor. Pearl turned around and offered her the best smile she could pull out.

“I’ll see you around, I guess.” Pearl waved at Violet, as she walked away in direction to Valentina’s office.

She knocked on the door, and unlike she had expected, Valentina opened the door and rushed her in, with a smile of excitement.

“I was impatient to begin working with you! I already have so many ideas for the website, I literally spent the entire night looking at other brands sites to make sure no one had done it before,” Valentina spoke as she pulled out her laptop.

“Have you consulted Violet about what she wants for the website?” Pearl questioned, turning on the device. Valentina waved her hand in a dismissive way.

“Oh, she doesn’t care that much for the details, as long as the shipping feature works properly.” She shrugged, watching her work.

Pearl was about to speak when her stomach twisted in hunger. She pulled a face, mumbling a curse. Valentina asked her if something was wrong, but Pearl denied it by going back to her usual mask of calm.

“Uh, nothing, I’m just kind of hungry.” Valentina furrowed her brow.

“Haven’t you had breakfast?” Pearl stuttered, trying to explain Valentina the inconvenience with her alarm, but she interrupted her. “I’ll make my assistant bring something for you, I can’t have you trying to work while you’re starving. What are you craving, darling?”

Pearl was about to refuse, but her stomach twisted again. She sighed in defeat. “A coffee and toast would be nice.”

In a matter of minutes Pearl was sitting in front of Valentina, while she was doing some paperwork and calls, eagerly eating her breakfast so she could get started. She calmed down after Valentina told her, in a motherly kind of way, to stop eating so fast or she’d choke.

Valentina amazed Pearl in some ways. The rest of the people she had worked for —most of the time people with business even smaller than Valentina’s— were all sort of mean and didn’t care at all for what Pearl did and not as long as she was doing her job well. Pearl hoped Valentina would still be like that — a kind, loving girl, when her brand became famous.

The morning went by rather calmly. Valentina occasionally made comments here and there about the colors, the design and photos she wanted to use, trying as much as possible to not bother Pearl. She wasn’t though, in fact, she was enjoying her company; Valentina was charming and hilarious.

Lunch time came and Valentina insisted on Pearl accompanying her and Violet to their favorite restaurant.

“I don’t wanna be a bother,” Pearl repeated, but Valentina scoffed.

“Don’t be silly! You’re not a bother, now get up and go with me,” she ordered, trying to sound bossy. They chuckled moments later.

Hesitantly, Pearl got up and followed Valentina, they headed to the parking lot and before climbing into Valentina’s car, she pulled out her phone and texted someone, probably Violet. After some moments, Valentina flashed Pearl a smile before opening the door for her.

“Let’s go, Pearlie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm taking a break from tumblr for mental health reasons, but I'd like to have some asks about the fic when I come back <3 http://chachkisalpaca.tumblr.com


	4. You Don't Know A Thing At All, pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey pals. Zyan here. I'm still on vacation, but I have pre-written chapters and I'm updating from my phone, 'cause I missed this story. Hope you like it! Back on Violet's pov, some shit happens and we're getting there with the pearlet plot. :)

Marilyn’s, a 50s inspired restaurant named for Miss Monroe, was Violet and Valentina’s favourite place. They discovered it one drunk night; they were leaving a club two streets away, and when walking to the nearest bus stop to go back to campus, they stumbled upon Marilyn’s. They were hungry and tired, and decided to try it out. Ever since then, they had turned into regular customers.

When Violet arrived, Valentina and Pearl already had a menu in their hands. She quickly made her way to them, sitting next to Valentina.

“So, Pearl,” Violet began, and Pearl lifted her gaze from the menu, “How was working with Valentina? I’ve learned to handle her stupidity, but you…” Valentina rolled her eyes and playfully slapped her in the arm. Pearl laughed behind her menu.

“It wasn’t that bad, Valentina was really nice,” she complimented. Valentina flashed Violet a cocky smile.

“See? You’re the only one that thinks that of me! Check yourself, perra, you have something bad in that brain of yours.”

“Well look who’s talking! Miss ‘If My Fantasy Is Strong Enough It’ll Be My Reality’!”

Pearl chuckled as she put the menu down, watching the friends have a play fight. It was funny to see them like that — out of the work environment. They were more relaxed and laid back, although Valentina was pretty much the same as in the office, Violet surely wasn’t.

She was laughing, cracking jokes and just enjoying their time out of the office. Pearl half smiled; if her high school self had been told that she’d work for Violet, she’d probably freak out, then blush from head to toe, then finally say “What Violet?” in an attempt to deny her crush.

The waitress came and took their orders, and once the menus were out of the way, Valentina slammed her hands on the table.

“We have something for you,” Valentina spoke with that wicked smile of hers, Pearl cocked a brow when Valentina pulled out a contract. “I made my lawyer write it yesterday. It’s not the final contract yet; we have to discuss the things you don’t agree with.”

Pearl took the contract in her hands, taking a quick look through it. She’d take a closer look later, she thought. She looked up to Valentina and Violet.

“Can I take a copy home?” she questioned, Violet nodded.

“Sure, take your time analyzing it, these things tend to be tricky.” Violet winked at her, and Pearl’s breath got caught in her throat for a moment.

Pearl shook her head. She couldn’t be this easy to leave speechless. She smiled at Violet. “They sure are.”

The rest of lunch went well. They made small talk as they ate and the friends kept mocking each other out of playfulness. Pearl was enjoying her time with them and almost was sorry for having to leave them once their site was done. She tried not to think about it and focused on having a good time.

Violet found weird that Pearl barely spoke during lunch. She had thought she’d be the talkative type - maybe she was just nervous? Yeah, that was probably it. Violet smiled more than she usually would and tried to incorporate Pearl in the conversation multiple times. She always got the same response from her when she did; her chest rising, sighing under her breath thinking nobody noticed, and her cheeks flushing the same rosy tone as they had when they met on the stairs.

Violet then thought that Pearl’s shy nature hadn't completely faded; and she had to work harder to get her to integrate the conversation. Although shyness wasn’t really what was preventing Pearl from socializing.

She kept thinking about the man from last night. Pearl could practically see him in Violet’s face, and blushed with every kind word and smile she gave her, thinking of the poor man she had fooled in believing she was straight, or even enjoyed her flirting.

Lunch ended and it was time for them to go back. They paid the bill and were about to leave, when the same man in Pearl’s thoughts entered the restaurant and looked at Violet. Pearl panicked,  _ ‘Fuck, did I call him mentally? _ ’ She wanted to escape, but in a blink he was a meter away, calling Violet’s name.

When Violet turned around and saw him, she smiled widely, with a spark in her eyes Pearl hadn’t seen in her until then, and threw herself into his arms.

“Jason! Where have you been? I haven’t seen you since last week!” she complained with a pout.

Now that Pearl was seeing them side to side, it clicked. They were siblings, it was so obvious! She felt stupid for not realizing sooner — Jason was the living male version of Violet and vice versa. Valentina soon went to greet Jason too, and Pearl stood there, paralyzed.

Jason tried to mess Violet’s hair — something difficult with the amount of hairspray Violet had.

“Hey, can’t your little brother go on a small trip without you freaking out?” he asked with a laugh. Pearl was about to leave and wait in Valentina’s car, but then Jason saw her. “Hey! You’re the girl that screamed at me last night! Pearl, was it?”

Violet frowned in Pearl's direction. Pearl gulped hard.  _ ‘How cute, I yelled at my boss’ dear brother…’ _

Pearl bit the inside of her cheek. “Yes, it’s me. Again, I’m sorry for last night, I—”

“I already told you, it’s fine,” he smiled at her, and Violet cocked a brow.

“Excuse me, how is it that you know each other?” Violet questioned, completely lost. Valentina watched in silence; she lived for the drama.

“I was about to fight him for a pizza because I thought it was my order. It wasn’t, but he took it well.” She shyly looked at Jason, hoping he’d get her out of the situation. Pearl had no intentions of upsetting Violet as long as she was her boss.

Violet looked back at Jason. “Is it true, Jay?”

“Yeah! I mean, we ordered the same weird thing, I’d have been confused too.” Jason looked at Pearl, and smirked when he noticed her glowing red cheeks. “I couldn’t get mad at a pretty girl either.”

Now, Pearl was sure that if looks could kill, Violet would have already murdered her twice. Right away she understood that she was a jealous sister, and it would be better for her to step back and clear things up.

“Uh, about that… Even though I’m flattered, I thought I wouldn’t see you again and played along with your compliments,” she began, and the twins arched a brow. “I’m not interested, but thank you for the compliments and not hating me!” Pearl smiled awkwardly at them, and scratching the back of her neck she turned to Valentina. “I’ll just… Wait in the car.”

Pearl walked away from the scene with her cheeks as red as a tomato. Valentina didn’t get to answer her because she was trying to process what just happened. Just like Violet.

Once Violet snapped out of her trance, she frowned in Jason’s direction.

“You flirted with her?!” she exclaimed in outrage. Jason sighed, knowing Violet would react that way.

“Well, yes; but don’t worry! She’s not interested, you heard her.” He tried to calm her down, but Violet crossed her arms over her chest.

“She just said that because she works for me!” Violet had told him multiple times to not mess around with her employees.

“In my defense, how was I supposed to know?” he exclaimed, Violet groaned — Jason had a point.

“I’ll forgive you this time, but I don’t want you messing with her again,” she warned, pressing her finger against his chest.

After that, they exchanged a few more words before saying goodbye. Violet looked around for Valentina, but apparently she had already gone. Violet walked where they parked their cars, finding Valentina chatting with Pearl, leaning against Valentina’s car.

When Valentina saw her friend coming, she stopped talking and waited until she was near.

“All good to go?” Valentina asked, Violet nodded, looking at Pearl.

Pearl shied away from Violet’s gaze. She tried to hurry into Valentina’s car, but Violet grabbed her wrist. Her heart started hammering in her chest, at the sight of Violet’s expressionless face.

“Drive with me this time.” It wasn’t a question, it was an order.

Pearl gulped. She wanted to say no and pull her away, but she couldn’t. Something told her she just had to obey Violet. She nodded, stepping back from the car and closing the door, much to Valentina’s surprise.

An awkward silence hung between them from the moment they walked to the vehicle and climbed into it. Violet drove with her gaze fixed on the road, driving by instinct rather than by consciousness. Her mind was a mess — why had she forbidden Jason to talk to Pearl? She did work for her, but it was temporary. She wouldn’t even see her again after she was done.

In a corner of her mind, there was a voice screaming that she was jealous. She wanted to laugh. Jealous? Of what? Pearl had already stated she wasn’t interested in Jason, and yes, she had flirted with him, but it wasn’t serious. Violet didn’t have to worry about Pearl stealing her brother from her. Why could she ever be jealous?

“Jason and I are twins,” she murmured, without Pearl having to ask her. “He and I have a strong relationship, you know?”

“Oh, yeah, I understand. I have a brother too.” Violet shook her head.

“It’s not the same,” she proceeded. “We can feel what each other is feeling — it’s annoying when one is sick, but still; I tend to be protective with him when he likes someone, or someone likes him. If he has his heart broken, I will feel it too, and I’m not a pacifist like he is.” It sounded like a threat, she was aware of it, but there was actually no malice in her words; just true concern for her brother’s wellbeing.

Violet noticed Pearl’s legs started to tremble when she placed her hands on her knees, caressing her own legs softly, and inhaled sharply.

“I didn’t mean to get his hopes up, I swear. I… I didn’t know he was your brother either,” she choked out with difficulty. Probably she was thinking Violet would fire her and get someone else to finish the website.

Violet sighed, trying to sound less harsh this time.

“I’m not going to fire you or anything, if that’s what you’re thinking. I’m trying to explain you why I was so angry back in the restaurant. I wasn’t; I was surprised and confused.” Violet glanced at her quickly. “If you ever change your mind, or if you don’t and he hits on you again, let him know. I taught him to respect women the best I could.” They laughed for some moments, Pearl’s nervousness had melted away and now was smiling at Violet.

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll ever be interested in your brother, or any men for the matter,” she said, her tone mysterious, “I’m actually a lesbian, so it’s more likely for me to chase after Valentina rather than your brother. Don’t you worry.”

Violet’s breath got caught in her throat after that statement. She really hadn’t expected Pearl to be a lesbian, but she was glad. ‘ _ Just because she won’t mess with my brother _ ,’ she tried to convince herself. Violet smiled to Pearl.

“How gay is New York is turning, huh? Valentina is bisexual and I’m a lesbian too,” she confessed with a shy smile.

Pearl stared at her for some moments, speechless. In the end she said how great it was, but Violet was sure she heard her mumble something under her breath along the lines ‘ _ Willam you bastard’ _ .

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked the chapter let me know in the comments! Have a good day :)


	5. This Kind of Love It's Not Enough, pt. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again pals! I'm excited to bring you all this chapter, as we're seeing Valentina's pov now. :) It's kinda mixed, though. We start with Pearl's pov, then move onto Valentina's. Please keep your eyes open to details, as we're about to enter some tough territory on the next chapters.

“I’ll just… Wait in the car.” Pearl escaped from the scene as fast as she could, trying to not make eye contact with the pissed off Violet, Pearl would probably turn into stone if she did. 

Pearl was sure Violet would give her some angry looks now and then until she could clarify she wasn’t into men in general. ‘ _ And that’s what I get for pretending to be straight _ ’, she thought, remembering for a moment her childhood years. 

Pearl had always known she preferred girls over boys, even as a toddler — but when she told her former friend that she liked girls, it took just one gross look from her to make her pretend she liked boys just like the rest of her friends.

The lie went on until her early teenage years, when she grew tired of having to disguise her crush on Violet as jealousy. It was ironic, she thought, that the girl she used to be so in love with was so close to jumping to her throat moments before.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and panicked for a moment thinking it was Violet, but she sighed in relief when she saw Valentina.

“Is she that mad at me?” Pearl dared to ask. Valentina gave her a comforting smile.

“No. She’s more upset with Jason than you — he was the one who hit on you and not the other way round,” Valentina said, in an attempt to make her smile. After all the years Valentina had known Violet, she was very much aware of how scary Violet could be sometimes.

“Right. I didn’t know he was her brother, though.”

“Didn’t you say you used to be her neighbor? Didn’t he look familiar?” she questioned, furrowing in confusion.

Pearl shrugged. “I never actually spoke to her or Jason. She didn’t know of my existence and I barely knew about hers,” Pearl lied. She couldn’t let Valentina know about her past feelings for her friend, as it’d make the situation even more awkward.

“Fair enough. Anyway, I doubt you’d have liked to be friends with her back then, I heard from Jason and her oldest friends—” Valentina couldn’t finish her sentence because she saw Violet out of the corner of her eye.

Pearl was about to ask what she heard until she saw Violet getting closer. She was ready to hear her saying ‘you’re fired’, but the harsh words never came.

“All good to go?” Valentina asked. Violet nodded, staring at her. 

Pearl shied away from Violet’s gaze. She tried to hurry into Valentina’s car, but Violet grabbed her wrist. Her heart started hammering in her chest at the sight of Violet’s expressionless face. 

“Drive with me this time.” Pearl froze — the look Violet was giving her left no place for a ‘no’.

Pearl gulped as she followed Violet to her car.

There was an awkward silence between them from the moment she made her step back from Valentina’s car. Pearl wanted to say a million things — for example if she was actually driving them back to the office or she was going to kill her and then throw her body in the river. Pearl told herself she had to stop watching twisted Netflix series.

Violet sighed under her breath, making Pearl’s senses go from zero to one hundred in a second. Violet gave her a quick glance before finally breaking the silence.

“Jason and I are twins,” she murmured. Pearl wasn’t surprised in all honesty. “He and I have a strong relationship, you know?”

“Oh, yeah, I understand. I have a brother too.” Violet shook her head.

“It’s not the same.” Pearl knew it wasn’t, but she let her continue. “We can feel what each other is feeling —it’s annoying when one is sick, but still; I tend to be protective of him when he likes someone, or someone likes him. If he has his heart broken, I will feel it too, and I’m not a pacifist like he is.” The tone in Violet’s words alarmed her for a moment, her legs started to tremble, but she tried to make it stop by placing her hands on her knees.

“I didn’t mean to get his hopes up, I swear. I… I didn’t know he was your brother either.”  _ ‘pathetic, I’m pathetic _ ’ Pearl thought, feeling pity for herself. She looked away, slightly blushing.

“I’m not going to fire you or anything, if that’s what you’re thinking. I’m trying to explain you why I was so angry back in the restaurant. I wasn’t; I was surprised and confused.” Pearl looked at her out of the corner of her eye — that was good to know. She looked away again when Violet’s gaze turned to her direction. “If you ever change your mind, or if you don’t and he hits on you again, let him know. I taught him to respect women the best I could.” Pearl chuckled along with Violet. There was a smile in her lips again.

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll ever be interested in your brother, or any men for the matter.” She saw Violet arching a brow and laughed softly. “I’m actually a lesbian, so it’s more likely for me to chase after Valentina rather than your brother. Don’t you worry.”

Pearl thought it was her mind, but she was sure she saw Violet’s chest rise and fall, along with a sharp sigh.

“How gay is New York is turning, huh? Valentina is bisexual and I’m a lesbian too,” Violet murmured, with a shyness Pearl hadn’t seen until now.

Pearl opened her eyes widely, clearly not expecting that. Pearl said something about how cool was that, mentally cursing Willam.

“Willam you bastard,” she murmured under her breath, low enough for Violet to not hear her. 

Her radar was definitely failing and Willam, once again, was right. Her heart started to hammer on her chest, imagining what it would’ve been like if she knew back in high school she was a lesbian too. Pearl imagined herself trying to talk to Violet with slightly more confidence, how it would’ve affected their future…

Pearl shook her head. She was doing it again.

She used to idealize people, and when things went wrong with them, she tried to imagine what she could’ve done differently, how would it affect their current reality and ultimately mortify herself over all the mistakes she made. 

But it wasn’t worth it. If things were bad before or even at the very beginning, nothing would change the outcome. And that was something Pearl had to learn the hard way. There was no way to change her actual relationship with Violet in any way but to be friendly with her and let it flow.

\----

Valentina always wondered why Violet was so reluctant of take the short way to the office. Every day after they had lunch, there was traffic. New York was always busy with traffic, but lunchtime was particularly a more crowded time and Marilyn’s wasn’t exactly around the corner. 

And so, Valentina was replying some emails regarding business matters, bored like she was before Pearl started working for them. She didn’t enjoy being alone in her own office, even if Violet was one hallway away. Valentina had tried to convince Violet to share an office many times, but she always refused. Valentina didn’t want to attribute it to their romantic past — they both were over it, it was ancient history. But… 

Sometimes Valentina felt their friendship was sort of cold. There were moments in which Valentina was trying to be affectionate with Violet, only to be turned down for no reason. It always felt odd and awkward, and what to say when they were drunk at the club — Violet didn’t want to be touched by Valentina at all!

Valentina couldn’t tell what was going on in her mind or what the reason behind her latest behaviour was. They were friends, best friends for that matter. They could count on each other and be sincere. But Valentina felt as if Violet’s friendship was slipping from her hands like sand, little by little.

_ ‘It’s probably nothing,’ _ she thought, trying to focus on the emails,  _ ‘I know her and she knows me — there’s no way our past relationship is getting in her head…’ _

“Hey Val, we’re back.” As if she was calling her mentally, Violet opened the door, followed by Pearl. Valentina put on a smile and  centered her attention on them.

“Finally! I’ve told you a million times to use the short road, but you won’t listen to me!” Valentina lectured her with a smile and a laugh. Violet chuckled, sitting next to Pearl. Valentina’s previous paranoia made her think something was wrong, since she’d always sit beside her, while her logical side shrugged it off.

“Your ‘short road’ is more confusing than my long road. I prefer to play it safe.” Valentina noticed the way Pearl was staring at Violet, lightly biting her bottom lip. She wanted to laugh — another girl questioning her sexuality thanks to Violet! That wasn’t something new.

“Yeah, whatever.” She gave a dismissive wave of her hand. “What are you doing here anyway? You never want to visit me except when we have a meeting,” she inquired with a pout, leaning forward over the desk.

Violet seemed to hesitate for a moment before speaking. “I wasn’t feeling like going back my office, that’s all,” she claimed, but Valentina had her doubts.

Her gaze went from Pearl to Violet, they kept glancing at each other when they thought she wasn’t looking and it made Valentina wonder what could have happened on their way back.

She smiled to her anyways. Perhaps it was all in her head and she was the one reviving the past and not the other way round. It would all be fine. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked the chapter, let me know in the comments <3 hit me up at my tumblr if you wanna talk about the fic! I'm there as chachkisalpaca too :)


	6. This Kinda Love Is Not Enough, pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome to another chapter! We're covering yet again Violet's pov (Pearl's time will come again, don't worry). The next two chapters will be a good ol angst fest as my sis Darling would say. Hope ya like it!

The night was awfully cold for being spring, and Violet knew she’d catch a chill if she sat in that alley any more second. The alcohol in her system made it difficult to walk, so she just escaped from the club as fast as she could, stumbling and almost falling many times, ending up there — an empty alley next to the club, probably with more than one rat and plenty of scum and dirt. 

She felt her phone buzzing in her pocket but she decided to ignore it, as it would probably be Valentina. Violet didn’t want to see Valentina, not now at least. She didn’t have the courage anymore.

Violet wanted to go home more than ever and just process all her feelings after a good sleep. But she couldn’t drive like that. She needed someone to pick her up and drive for her. But with her reluctance to see Valentina’s face, who could it be? Jason would be happy to help her out, but he’d make her talk about it and she wasn’t in the mood for giving explanations to a third person. 

And then the obvious answer hit her: Pearl. Not only did she know, but she had given her advice — advice that, for that matter, didn’t work out. She’d have time to complain about it later, right now she needed to call Pearl.

She pulled out her phone and, with the light burning her eyes, she looked for Pearl’s contact. Once she found it, she wasted no time and pressed call. The wait before Pearl picked up was horrible, but she never felt more relieved than when she heard her sleepy voice.

“Violet? Is everything okay? What time is it?” 

“Everything’s not okay,” she let out, slurring a little, “Val… She hates me now. She hates, hates, hates me!” Violet cried, hearing some noises from the other side of the line.

“Calm down, please. Where are you? I’ll come pick you up, you sound like you need it,” Pearl informed her, “Where are you, doll?” she inquired with a soft voice, and a tone full of concern.

Violet’s cheeks lit up. She loved being called pet names, and she was particularly a hopeless romantic when she was drunk, completely the opposite of her sober self.

“I’ll text you my address. Ah! And I need to know something. Do you know how to drive?” 

“Why yes, I do.” A wide smile grew on Violet’s face.

“I need you to drive for me, pretty please,” Violet begged. She heard Pearl sigh.    
  


“Fine. I’ll be there right now, wait for me.” After that, Pearl hung up, and Violet sent her the address of the place.

Violet wasn’t aware of how much time she spent sitting in that cold alley. Unlike she expected, the cold air didn’t wake her up like in the books she read and movies she saw. If anything it made her want to roll into her bed, covering herself from head to toe with warm blankets, and sleep away all her worries. 

‘ _ I shouldn’t have done that, what will happen with our friendship now? With the company? I can’t see her face now _ …’

Her phone interrupted her mental rant when the incoming call tone sounded. Violet answered with eager — perhaps Pearl was already close. 

“Pearl?”

In the background there was a muffled sound she couldn’t identify, but it sounded quite like the one pounding against the walls of the club and making its way into the silence of the alley.

“Where are you? I’m outside the club,” she informed. Violet clung onto the wall to get up, her legs aching with every step she tried to take.

“In the alley,” she said with a whimper, “I’ve been here for… I don’t know.”

Pearl didn’t answer. With small steps, Violet tried to make her way out, as fast as she could with the alcohol in her veins and the ache in her legs. Soon she saw a female figure standing in front of her, approaching with hurried steps. Violet smiled lazily before falling into Pearl’s arms.

“Jesus, Violet! What happened? Why were you here?” Pearl stressed, placing her arms around her waist and helping her walk.

Violet furrowed her brow and curled up against Pearl’s chest. She was so warm. So, so warm.

“I don’t wanna talk about it…” Violet closed her eyes, feeling the slumber finally catch her. 

Pearl sighed and carried them both to the car once she spotted it.

“That’s fine, we don’t need to talk about it — I do need the car keys, though,” Pearl requested. Violet yawned.

“It’s on the chest pocket of my coat,” she whispered, reluctant to let Pearl go. Violet was sure she’d fall if Pearl stopped holding her. 

Violet protested when Pearl made her lean her back on the car, while she looked for the keys. Violet didn’t know if she was hallucinating due to the sleep and alcohol, but she could swear she saw Pearl blush from head to toe when she took the key.

Pearl managed to get her on the passenger seat and adjust the seat belt. Violet complained, she was far more comfortable nestled against Pearl’s chest, but she guessed it was only temporary until she got to her home and dived into her bed and—

This wasn’t the way to her home. Pearl wasn’t driving her home. Furrowing her brow, Violet spoke. 

“This isn’t the way to my apartment,” she informed. It took her a minute to realize she hadn’t even told Pearl her address. “Where are we going?”

Violet saw Pearl’s grip on the steering wheel tighten and the leather grind against her touch. 

“My apartment,” she confessed with a gulp. “I don’t think it’d be too bad if you crashed for the night.” 

For some reason, Violet thought that was the least thing Pearl would want, judging by her expressions and how she shied away from Violet’s scrutinizing look. Perhaps it was all in her head. Yeah, maybe.

She smiled in Pearl’s direction, and if it wasn’t for the seat belt, she’d go back to cuddle her — Drunk Violet was a sucker for physical contact, and Pearl happened to be the warmest person she’d ever met.

“Only if you sleep and cuddle with me,” she begged, and this time she was sure she saw Pearl’s cheeks light up at her suggestion.

“F… Fine, I don’t see why not,” Pearl stuttered. Violet chuckled.

“You’re pretty when you’re nervous.”

 

\-----

 

When she woke up, Violet felt as if there was a hammer inside her brain and a desert in her throat. Her first instinct was try to remember what happened last night. Her expression darkened when she remembered the rejection she had suffered, and soon embarrassment joined the party. 

After chugging down a bottle of the cheapest tequila the barman had, the images were blurry. She remembered crying in the bathroom, talking to a stranger about how miserable she was, falling to the floor and the coldness of the ground. And then something warm, keeping her from the cold of the night. 

The next thing she remembered was the fact that she didn’t dare to drive drunk, so how had she ended up in her apartment? 

Violet’s eyes snapped open. This wasn’t her room. Nor Valentina’s. She took a quick look at her body; she was in her underwear and her dress was on the floor. Now where were her heels and coat?

She jumped out of bed and looked for her garments, finding them on the nightstand in the opposite side of the bed. She put on her dress, heels and coat and searched frantically for her phone. Violet sighed in relief when she found it in the chest pocket. She looked at the hour; 11 AM. 

Violet stepped outside of the room and looked for a way out. She almost froze when she saw a blonde woman walk at the end of the hallway. It didn’t calm her down when she noticed it was Pearl, hanging around barefoot, in an oversized t-shirt and apparently nothing under it. 

The thought of having slept with Pearl frightened her. Violet had a rule to not sleep with her employees, but, on the other side, Pearl was a temporary employee…

She shook her head. It was wrong anyway, and now she had to face her. 

With little steps, Violet made her appearance in the living room. Pearl was sitting on the couch, eating cereal and watching TV. She stopped what she was doing when she saw Violet and focused her attention on her.

“Hey,” she greeted, with a shy smile. “How’s the hangover?”

Violet forced a smile as she stood in her spot. “It’s… going.” She took a sharp breath and tried to speak without stuttering. “Um, this will sound stupid but… Did we, you know, hook up?”

Pearl cocked a brow, staying silent for a painful minute. 

“Yeah, of course we did! I thought it was good.” Violet’s face was bright red as she heard the words leaving Pearl’s mouth. “Why do you look offended? Is my pussy not good enough for you?”

Violet choked with her spit.

“No! I—”

“Hmm, you weren’t complaining last night,” she teased. Violet’s expression was that of pure embarrassment. She was going to speak again, when Pearl laughed loudly. “Geez, calm down! We didn’t do anything. I picked you up from the club and let you sleep on my bed. You were a mess.”

Violet’s soul came back to her body after hearing that, and fragments of last night replayed on her mind. She remembered falling into Pearl’s arms, and it then clicked. The warmness she felt on her skin at the memory; that warmness came from Pearl. 

She reluctantly took a seat next to Pearl on the couch, punching her arm on the process. “That’s for scaring me like that.”

“I deserve it,” she declared with a chuckle. “Do you want to drink water and eat something? I think you need it.”

Violet’s expression softened and nodded. Pearl got up and went to the small kitchen next to the living room. Violet loosened up from her stiff posture and sighed. Even when she was terrified of the possibility of having slept with Pearl, there was a small part of her that would’ve liked that a lot, actually. And that scared her even more. 

Violet couldn’t long to sleep with Pearl if she, supposedly, was head over heels for Valentina.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked it let me know in the comments. <3 Hit me up at my tumblr, chachkisalpaca!


	7. You Just Opened My Eyes While Breaking My Heart, pt. 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're finally at valentina's pov and things might get heavy - well, they do get heavy. i hope you like it though, this is kind of a personal chapter.

Valentina always fought hard to get what she wanted. Being the only —and younger— daughter among four brothers, she always made sure she stood out and was heard. Everyone in her family had big personalities and she didn’t have the luxury of falling in the background. It was a family thing — the Rodriguez never accepted failure or anything other than greatness.

Her grandfather —who had a degree in being misogynistic— was always shoving the hard work he did to build the Rodriguez empire in their faces and saying “how grateful they should be, because without him their family would be selling chicles in the streets of Saltillo”. So Valentina fought even harder, if it was possible, to show him she could be as successful as him, if not more. 

She put so much effort in school, extracurricular activities and whatever she got herself into to show them she could achieve success like her siblings. She never brought a bad grade home — unlike her oldest brothers, who barely passed sometimes. But it was never enough for her parents, who pushed her to be better each and every time, even if it wasn’t possible.

Contrary to what everyone that knew Valentina’s story thought, she loved her siblings. She really did. They loved her, and always made sure their little  _ princesa _ was alright after every time she got another “you can do better” from their grandparents. 

Oh, how much she craved his approval! Valentina did everything in her power to make him proud, to hear him say “congratulations, mi amor” or anything remotely cheerful. But she guessed Antonio Rodriguez wasn’t that kind of man.

When she moved out for college, she felt the change within her first test. There was no pressure, no knot in her gut as she walked back to her dorm for not achieving a perfect 100. It was as if the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders, and it felt amazing!

Valentina was finally free — free to be whoever she wanted to be, free to express herself however she wanted without caring about what her family would say. The weren’t there anyway! Why worry?

Living like she wanted and doing things her own way, Valentina discovered something hidden until then: she loved women as much as she loved men. Or even more! She discovered when she fell in love with Manila Luzon, her first everything. Valentina had had some crushes before, sure, but with Manila… It just felt different. It felt correct and safe — it was as if life had been preparing her to meet Manila, saving the best for the last. 

Valentina was so sure they were endgame, so convinced they would end up spending their life together. Because her love was that blind. She saw no flaws, no imperfections, no signs that, maybe, Manila wasn’t on the same page. In Valentina’s French Vanilla Fantasy, Manila felt the same way she did.

Unfortunately, her French Vanilla Fantasy wasn’t her reality.

“I just don’t love you that way!” Manila exclaimed, the night they broke up, losing her cool. Valentina felt a so familiar knot in her throat, and an oppression in her chest as she realized she had failed once again — she had failed to get Manila’s love.

She stood in the middle of Manila and Carmen’s room with watery eyes and without even a whimper escaping her lips. She had mastered that after all these years.

Once she got out of her trance, she stormed past Manila, simply saying, “I don’t wanna see you again. Adiós.”

The next few weeks, Valentina battled against her own emotions; she felt empty, without a will to do anything but to mechanically do her assigned work, answer questions and be the top of the class. Everyone thought Valentina would be okay, because she appeared to be so strong, so full of life and happiness on the outside — nobody but her roomate, April, knew what was going on with her when the door closed. 

Valentina was so devastated. She didn’t had any strength to even get up and walk on the campus. For her, it felt like it was the end of the world, as if she would never love again. After April insisted she should visit the college counselor, she found out why.

Valentina always seeked for the love and approval of others but herself. The rejection of her own family had marked her in a psychological way, which was why she clinged on to Manila as if her life depended on it. She needed someone to love and validate her, but she hadn’t thought about herself to do that job.

It took her a lot of work and part of her college experience to get back on her feet but she did; Valentina made a full recovery and she was ready to go out to the world as a better version of herself. One that had enough love and self esteem to share.

She met Violet when she decided to make her debut again and have a taste of what she had been missing. After laying eyes on her from the moment she stepped into the house, she knew that she had to test out this newfound confidence to get her. And she did. And she got laid for the first time in a long time. 

After that, they decided to keep it cool and be friends after a couple of failed dates and zero spark. They became inseparable, and where Violet went Valentina followed. She remembered the night they discovered Marilyn’s with fondness.

They were walking to the bus stop as they came back from clubbing. They were wasted; their energy drained and longing for a bed to jump right into. Valentina braced herself, as the night was cold and she had brought a thin coat, thinking it would be hotter. In addition, she was starving. Drinking always opened her appetite. Patting the coat as she adjusted it, she discovered some money left — enough to buy a dinner-breakfast for her and Violet.

Valentina smiled widely. She had spotted an open restaurant across the street and at this point she was too hungry for not giving it a try.

“C’mon, I will buy us something to eat, you provided the drinks all night long,” she joked, slurring slightly, making Violet laugh. She grabbed Violet’s hand, heading there. “Come here drunk Cinderella, let’s get you some food.”

Violet followed her way with a chuckle. “As long as they don’t serve me food touched my mice.”

They fell in love with the place, and made it a tradition to go there for lunch. Marilyn’s was their safe place, and not even the luxurious restaurants in New York could tempt them to leave their corner of happiness.

Graduation eventually came, and without a doubt Valentina and Violet moved in together. Their apartment was small and the two of them could barely stand in the kitchen together but it was their home and they liked it that way.

Violet worked in a boutique while Valentina learned the family’s job in her spare hours. Her parents had offered her to pay them a much better apartment but she had refused. Valentina had a job modelling for an art class and they paid well — she appreciated the help but wanted to do it alone, although she could use their good intentions for other things.

Their company started as talks at dinner, chatting about their hopes for future and their dreams. Until one day, they decided to give it a try and ask Valentina’s father to help them, since he was the most accessible between Valentina’s parents.

Roberto Rodríguez was thrilled to help his only daughter pursue her dreams. So he made the arrangements to have the bottles of perfume, and helped them develop their fragrances. The finishing touch was buying for them a nice boutique in the center of New York. 

The opening day Roberto placed a kiss on Valentina’s forehead and wrapped her in a tight hug.

“You can do this, cariño. I believe in you.”

“Thanks, papi.” Valentina gave him one last hug before he said goodbye and headed back to work. 

And she was right — Valentina was a natural for sales. It ran in her blood. Their first store was always crowded, from the moment they opened their doors until they closed it, V&V Perfumes never lacked in customers. Lots of people she’d probably never see again and friends supporting their business. Until one day a certain someone breezed into their store, and Valentina felt as if her college years played in front of her in slow motion.

After their break up, Valentina had fulfilled her promise by never talking or seeing Manila, not even from afar. Watching Manila enter in their store with that charming smile, after all those years, made Valentina feel guilty. She had been irrational and because of a bad decision, she lost one of her closest friends. 

Valentina approached to Manila, with a shaky smile and trembling legs. Manila noticed her coming, but didn’t look nervous in the slightest — she kept on smiling and it seemed she held no hard feelings towards her.

“Valentina! Long time no see. You work here?” Valentina shook her head.

“I own the place, actually,” she informed. Manila was surprised by the statement, but it didn’t dampen her good mood.

“I see…” she murmured, her voice almost lost between all the noise inside the store. “Seems like life has been good for you.” Valentina was taken aback by the sudden bitterness in her tone but she couldn’t blame her.

“Lately,” Valentina remarked, “It’s been good lately. After we broke up it wasn’t all that good.” She must have touched Manila’s sensitive spot, due to the sharp breath she took and how the smile disappeared from her face. Valentina bit the inside of her cheek. “Listen — I’m sorry for all that I did and said. You didn’t deserve to be the target of my insecure, needy bitch crap. I got help and now I’m better.”

Manila half smiled, reaching for Valentina’s shoulder and squeezing it gently. “Don’t worry, I understand. It was selfish of me to ignore all the bad things and not push you to get help sooner, too.”

Feeling the tears come, Valentina quickly changed the subject. “So, is there something I can help you with?” she asked, giving her the smile she used on customers. Manila laughed softly and nodded, starting to wander around the store, trying to find a perfume her friend would like.

Luckily Valentina had other employees, otherwise she’d have gotten many complaints online for ignoring the other customers and focusing on Manila. She didn’t have any feelings left for her, but they were catching up as Manila purposefully delayed her stay.

Before leaving, Valentina asked Manila for her number so they could continue with their conversation later. She gladly gave it and hugged Valentina as she continued with her day.

Manila’s number found a good use when their company took a big step and decided to have a website — unfortunately Manila wasn’t an expert on the matter, and Valentina cursed her bad memory for that.

“But don’t worry,” she said, aware of the disappointment in their faces. “I know someone who can help you. She’s a friend of mine, and she’s a genius creating websites. If you’d like I can give you her contact information?” Manila offered with a doubtful tone.

Valentina consulted it with Violet in spanish —the good thing about spending time with Valentina was that you picked up a little spanish along the way— and before some moments of deliberation they accepted. Manila gave Valentina Pearl’s email and phone number and shortly after they said goodbye. 

The following days before the meeting were… Weird. Violet was acting strange around her. She was still her usual dorky self, but the small details were what worried her. She and Violet no longer shared an apartment but still lived in the same building. In their free time, they’d always sit on the stairs with snacks and gossip, or Violet would be at Valentina’s place all day long or vice versa. But lately, she would leave abruptly from those moments together and say “She had to do something but she’d text her later”.

There were so many little things that gave Valentina a bad feeling — she knew something would happen.

But she didn’t know her bad feelings would materialize in the form of a drunk Violet confessing her feelings and kissing in the middle of the club they always went to.


	8. You Just Opened My Eyes While Breaking My Heart, pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Following Valentina's pov, we discover what happened the night Violet asked Pearl to pick her up. This is yet again an angst fest, so yeah. I hope you like it. Thanks to my baby @grey-darling for beta reading again :)

If Violet had been acting weird before, then Pearl’s arrival only intensified the situation. Knowing Violet, she’d say she didn’t care about the colors of the website but she’d still be curious about the process, and inevitably she’d end up spending all day in Valentina’s office, coming and going to collect her paperwork. But that hadn’t happened, and Valentina had been confused, to say the least.

Then they had lunch. Violet was making jokes and laughing as per usual. Valentina brushed off her worries as some nonsense made up by her mind. Valentina and Violet tried to integrate Pearl into the conversation, but she seemed to be shy. Nevertheless, their lunch was nice and it went without any trouble.

That was until Jason arrived. 

Now, Valentina knew how jealous Violet could be. Jason was all she had, and she was afraid of losing him to a girl. Valentina had seen Violet be jealous of Jason before, lecturing him about the girls he used to date and whatnot. But this was the first time she saw her so pissed off. She’d usually just give him an eye roll, a couple warnings, and that was it. 

Valentina usually noticed things that would go ignored by everyone else; like the way Violet squeezed her brother’s arm, her heavy breathing and the way she was staring at Pearl. For some reason, hearing about how her brother flirted with Pearl bothered her more than it should have. 

And then Violet had insisted —more like ordered— Pearl to drive with her. Valentina had been worried for a second, thinking that Violet was capable of firing her for having flirted with her brother. 

The pair had arrived later than expected at the office, and to Valentina’s surprise, Pearl was still there. There was something weird with those two, though. The glances they exchanged and the little smiles. It made Valentina wonder what could’ve happened during their ride for them to be suddenly so bubbly with each other. 

Their day ended as normal as the day before, with Violet asking her if they’d go tomorrow at their favorite club. Valentina said yes, as always, with an enthusiastic smile. It had been a while since they’d been to Mystic. A night devoted to drinking and dancing wouldn’t hurt them.

But Valentina was wrong. So, so wrong.

They would usually go out in one car, but this time Violet had insisted on driving alone. Valentina accepted, based solely on the fact that Violet looked uncomfortable with the idea of riding together for some reason.

There was a long queue outside of Mystic, of course. Mystic was a really popular club that everyone wanted to visit at least once. Thanks to the power of money and their contacts with the owner, Valentina and Violet didn’t have to go through the queue. They went straight inside and then to the VIP area.

Mystic had two floors, the first one was for common clients and the second for the ones that could afford the VIP tickets. It even had with an elevator for really drunk customers. No wonder they prefered VIP.

Valentina and Violet caught the eye of many as they made their way to the second floor. They’d be offended if they didn’t — they always wore their best garments to Mystic. You never knew what could happen, or who you could end up flirting with. They were always dressed to kill.

A fair hour went by and Valentina didn’t even feel dizzy from the shots she had taken. Perks of growing up with a family Tequila business, she said. Although Violet didn’t have the same luck with alcohol. She was already slurring a little and giggling at whatever Valentina said. That was Drunk Violet, stage one. Next it’d follow the careless dance moves, flirting with any girl that she stumbled upon, and the epitome of Drunk Violet was stealing a quick peck from Valentina as they danced. This never bothered her, since Violet would do the same with any of her female friends, Valentina never paid attention to it. She just played along.

That night, however, it was different. By 1 AM Violet was already drunk. Valentina occasionally laughed at Violet and the things she said — usually Drunk Violet was more laid back, with an attitude her sober self wouldn’t show.

“You’re so pretty, you know that?” Violet slurred, leaning for a hug while they were sitting in their booth.

Valentina chuckled, embracing her back. “You say that a lot when you’re drunk, Viv.”

“Because you are,” she continued, placing her head on Valentina’s shoulder. 

There was a moment of silence between them — just staring at the dance floor and watching the people dance. 

“I love you.” Violet murmured against the crook of Valentina’s neck. Valentina smiled at that.

“I love you too,” she replied. She could feel Violet’s breath getting heavier against her neck. But she didn’t reply again.

A fair twenty minutes passed before Violet was pulling Valentina to the dancefloor — there was a spanish song playing and it happened to be Valentina and Violet’s favorite. They danced to it even when they had killer heels, and with every move they made, Violet pulled Valentina closer.

Violet was looking at Valentina in a way that sent shivers down her spine. But this time, when Violet leaned in to give Valentina a short kiss like they used to, everything felt different. It didn’t feel the same — Violet’s eagerness, her hands on Valentina’s hips and the look she had given her earlier all spoke of feelings Valentina could never have towards Violet.

“I like you,” Violet breathed out the second they withdrew. Valentina felt a pain in her chest, the pain of knowing she was about to break her best friend’s heart.

“But I don’t.” Valentina took Violet’s hands off her hips and squeezed them. “I’m sorry.”

Violet’s expression fell. Valentina’s heart sank the moment she pulled her away, without even hiding her pain under the mask of coldness she usually wore. A bad thing about Drunk Violet was, again, her sensibility. 

Valentina saw Violet walk to the bar as best as she could, losing her in the crowd at some point. She went back to the booth, hoping Violet would come back. Time passed by, and with no sign of Violet, Valentina got worried sick.

She searched the bar, the dance floor, until she stumbled upon a crying mess in the bathroom called Violet. 

Mystic’s bathroom was the last place Valentina would think she’d find Violet. Firstly, because not even Drunk Violet could bring herself to cry in a bathroom, no matter how sad she was — she had some standards. And secondly, Valentina didn’t think rejection would hurt Violet this bad.

It only made her feel worse for not being able to reciprocate her feelings. 

When Violet opened her eyes and saw Valentina standing a few feet away, she quickly tried to get up, an empty bottle of cheap tequila falling from her lap. Valentina instantly cocked a brow, refusing to believe Violet just drank all of that alone. 

“What?” Violet finally asked, sounding like a cornered animal. Valentina pointed at the empty bottle.

“You hate tequila.”

“Maybe I like it now,” she replied, defensive; not missing a beat despite being spectacularly drunk. “Maybe I wanna replace you with tequila.”

Valentina felt an ache in her heart.

“You don’t mean that.”

Violet’s expression was still of pure hurt, but as stubborn Violet was, she won’t let Valentina know how much rejection affects her.

With short steps, Violet finally was face to face with Valentina. Valentina thought for a brief moment she’d try to kiss her again, to be sure she didn’t in fact love her back. But that never happened, and instead Violet just walked past her.

Valentina didn’t see Violet for the rest of the night nor on Tuesday morning at the office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you liked it, let me know with a comment :) <3 hit me up at @chachkisalpaca if you want <3


	9. You Say It's Just One Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm soooooooo sorry for the hiatus this story has been through! but i'm back with a new chapter. kinda short, hope you like it! we're no longer doing an exclusive pov, just because it was tiring and i grew annoyed of it. thanks to grey darling for beta-ing!! love you and missed you!!!

“Is this how your mornings usually go…?” Violet inquired, sipping on her coffee mug.

She was still in Pearl’s apartment, after having read all of Valentina’s messages and decided going back to her own place wasn’t the best idea, since she lived next door. So she asked Pearl to let her borrow a t-shirt and jeans — the dress she’d worn to Mystic had too many bad memories attached to it now. 

And there they were, watching a movie Violet didn’t know the name of while they had breakfast-that-was-supposed-to-be-lunch. 

Pearl took a bite of her toast, eyes still fixed on the TV.

“More or less. I usually don’t have girls I picked up from the club hangin’ out this long, though.” She chuckled softly, turning slightly to watch Violet’s face. 

The brunette rolled her eyes, playfully elbowing Pearl. “Idiot,” she mumbled, focusing on the movie. “What are we even watching, anyway?”

Pearl gasped loudly, clearly offended, put pause and then turned to see Violet, hand clasped over her chest. 

“How do you not know Pride & Prejudice?” She inquired, cocking a brow. Violet merely blinked and looked away. “Really, miss Violet? You have never even read the book for English class? Seen the movie with Keira Knightley — A.K.A this movie, the one we’re watching?” Violet remained silent, and Pearl let out another gasp. “Are you serious? You have never seen the movie with Keira Knightley? What kind of lesbian are you?”

“In my defense,” Violet finally spoke up, interrupting Pearl’s rant. “I did read it in high school, but, like, I kind of didn’t and had one of my friends do my book report for me.”

Pearl gave her a blank stare before getting up from the couch and heading to the small library she had in the living room. Violet watched as she looked for a book, and once she found it, she took it out and showed it to her. The brunette thought the little squeal she gave once she laid eyes on it was the most adorable thing ever.

“ _ Pride & Prejudice _ , by Jane Austen,” she read out loud. “Now, you’ll take this home and read it, or else… Or else I’ll design you a bad website.” Pearl gave Violet the book, and proceeded to fold her arms.

Violet laughed loudly, surprising Pearl. She actually had a really dorky laugh; the blonde smiled a little, thinking she wouldn’t mind making her laugh more often.

“Alright, your threat sounds very… Serious,” Violet replied, in a mocking tone. “I’ll read this in my free time, and come back to you once I finish it,” she promised, leaving the book on her lap. 

Pearl gave an excited smile and sat back on the couch. “In that case, I think we should stop watching this, or else you’ll get more spoilers,” she commented, going through her Netflix list for something to watch.

A solid minute passed before an idea came to Violet’s mind, and decided to break the silence. 

“You wanna go to the mall?” she questioned, catching Pearl’s attention. “There’s this seasonal sale at the fancy side of the mall, y’know, where one dress costs the same as your rent.”

Pearl put the control remote down, and chewed on her lip as she thought about it. “Uh, I’m not really sure. Sale or not, I’m not exactly in the position to spend money on clothes I’ll probably wear once.” She shrugged, about to suggest they go to the cinema instead, but Violet interrupted her.

“That’s not a problem, I can pay for you,” the brunette offered, not even stopping to think twice about it. Pearl looked at her in astonishment.

“You… Would? Why?” Pearl inquired, recoiling in her seat. The tiniest bit inside her hoped it would have to do with some romantic reason, but the voice of reason quickly snapped her out of it, saying to better keep her hopes low and reasonable.

“Well, I owe you a favor, don’t I? If it wasn’t for you picking me up and letting me crash here, Lord knows where I’d be right now,” Violet explained, half-chuckling. 

Right. Of course Violet wanted to pay off a favor, she should’ve seen it coming. Pearl chewed on her lip, staring into Violet’s eyes, as she gave it a final thought.

“Alright, let’s go to the fancy side and get some nice clothes. But lunch’s my treat.” She beamed with excitement, and it made Violet’s heart give a slight jump; Pearl sure had a pretty smile.

 

\---

 

Pearl gazed at the shops in awe, admiring each exhibit for a tad too long  and pointing excitedly at a dress that caught her eye, while tugging on Violet’s arm so she’d take a look. 

Had it been someone else, Violet would’ve already snapped and told them to stop. But Pearl had a weird kind of charm, that made it impossible to be mean towards her. The sparkle in her eyes as she contemplated every shop from afar was the most amusing thing to the brunette.

They reached the last hallway in that section of the mall, and while Violet already had a few bags of clothes and accessories in her hands, Pearl only had one bag containing a perfume she’d bought back in the Chanel store. A Chanel N°5, to be precise.

“I’ve always wanted to get this perfume, y’know,” she commented while they were in line to pay for it. “Even if it smells kinda bad, imagine how amazing must be to get asked about what perfume you’re wearing, and be like “oh, that’s just a lil’ classic, just Chanel N°5,”” she giggled softly, with the biggest smile Violet had ever seen.

The warm feeling that spread through Violet’s chest when she saw Pearl hold on tight to that little bag, and the smile on her face, was one of the best feelings she ever felt.

Suddenly, Pearl stopped in her tracks in front of a shop, looking directly at a display in one of the shops. Violet positioned herself by her side, and tried to follow the direction she was looking at. It was a platinum dress, with a heart-shaped cleavage, and an opening on the right leg. It was a simple design, but by Pearl’s look, Violet could tell she was infatuated with the dress.

“Do you like that one?” Violet asked, already knowing the answer.

Pearl seemed to snap out of it, as she looked up and saw the name of the store.  _ Dior. _

“I— I do. But I— It’s fucking Dior, it must be hella expensive.”

“And I said I owe you a favor, didn’t I?” the brunette smiled gently, but Pearl shook her head.

“No, you already paid for the perfume, and it was pretty expensive too. You don’t owe me anything anymore,” she assured her. Pearl’s heart had begun to hammer against her chest like never before the moment Violet hadn’t hesitated to buy her the perfume, so she was pretty sure she could hear her heartbeat by then. 

It had all been so surreal until that moment; Pearl still couldn’t believe her high school crush spent the night, had breakfast and invited her to the mall — in the same day! She had promised herself she’d be cool around Violet, not let her old feelings rise again now that she was her boss.

But God, it was so difficult when Violet smiled like that, and insisted on spoiling her even when she didn’t deserve it.

“Well, yeah, but…” Violet bit the inside of her cheek, thinking how to convince her. She sighed, defeated. “Okay, how about this: what if I just wanna gift it to you, ‘cause I consider you a good friend?”

Something changed in Pearl’s expression the moment the word “friend” left Violet’s lips, though she couldn’t tell what. The brunette shrugged it off.

There was a long moment of silence before Pearl sighed in defeat and gave in to Violet’s desires, for the second time in the day.

They entered into the store, and while Pearl was busy looking at everything and everywhere, Violet asked one of the employees to get her the dress from the window for Pearl to try it on. And just like that they entered into another argument — Pearl said there was no way this tiny dress was her size, Violet pushed her into the changing room and told her to try it anyway. With a look of hesitation, she did as she was told.

While she waited for her companion to come out, she checked her business email. There wasn’t anything new or something she hadn’t seen before, until she reached an email sent approximately a week ago. She frowned in confusion - usually nothing escaped her eye. Violet opened it, and was bewildered to see she’d been invited to the Visage Foundation Charity Ball.

The Visage Foundation was one of the largest non-profit organizations across the United States that had multiple projects to help the world make a better place. This new charity ball purpose was to help kids stay in school by donating money and supplies to the families. She had to confirm her presence until that Friday, and could bring a plus one.

Just as she was typing out a reply, Pearl’s head peeked through the changing room.

“You ready?” she asked, in a sing sang tone. Violet nodded, putting away her phone. “ _ Ta-da! _ How do I look?

Violet’s breath got caught in her throat. Pearl’s body looked nothing short of stunning; the dress fit every curve just right, the color complimented her skin, and even though she was a little tiny and the tail of the dress looked too long, there was nothing a good pair of heels wouldn’t do.

The brunette took a long moment before she was able to use her words.

“Perfect,” she breathed out. Pearl smiled and mouthed a thank you.

“I’mma take this off, but not before taking some pictures. Who knows when I might be able to actually wear it?” she laughed, as she closed the door of the changing room. 

In that moment, Violet knew exactly who her plus one for the charity ball would be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please tell me your opinion of the chapter in the comments and hit me up at @chachkisalpaca on tumblr! see ya!


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